How much do we waste?

In Norfolk approximately 8,500 tonnes of textiles that could be reused or recycled are thrown away every year. Nationally this adds up to £140 million worth of used clothing going to landfill.

Make the most of your textiles

Extending the average life of clothes by just three months of active use would lead to a 5-10% reduction in each of the carbon, water and waste footprints. It would also mean we get much more value out of our clothes and save money.

There are lots of ways to give unloved or forgotten textiles a new lease of life – from donating them for reuse or recycling, to repairing or maybe even upcycling them into something new and exciting. Smarter buying and bettercare can also help to make your clothes look good for longer.

Fancy learning some new sewing skills? Take a look at a selection of the adult learning courses that are available in Norfolk.

Don't Throw Them Away!

Norfolk County Council’s main recycling centres accept a wide variety of clothes and other textiles. Clothes, shoes and other textiles are sorted, with good quality items being worn again in the UK or abroad and other items recycled into new products like sofa padding or insulation.

Charity shops, textile banks and bagged collections will take good quality clothing, shoes and often other household textile items for reuse. Some may also accept worn out or damaged items.

All items must be clean and dry.

Damaged or worn out items that are beyond repair can be difficult to recycle. Instead, why not cut up any you may have and use them for rags?

Please click here for further details of what items can be accepted where.

Schools

By collecting textiles for reuse and recycling you can raise money for your school and help the environment too!

Norfolk County Council has teamed up with The Salvation Army’s ‘Recycle with Michael’ scheme to offer all Norfolk schools the chance to do just that by recycling textiles.

Please click here for more information and to find out how to sign up for a collection.